IC Course Development

In the year 1, VT will ensure 3 courses’ curriculum includes Semiconductors, Memory, and Semiconductor Processing. Those three courses range from undergraduate courses to graduate courses. Those three courses are:

(1) ECE 4234 - Semiconductor Processing

Course Description: Manufacturing practices used in silicon integrated circuit fabrication and the underlying scientific basis for these process technologies. Physical models are developed to explain basic fabrication steps, such as substrate growth, thermal oxidation, dopant diffusion, ion implantation, thin film deposition, etching, and lithography. The overall CMOS integrated circuit process flow is described within the context of these physical models.

(2) ECE 4540 - VLSI Circuit Design

Course Description: Introduction to the design and layout of Very Large Scale Integrated Circuits (VLSI). Emphasis is placed on digital CMOS circuits. Static and dynamic properties of MOSFET devices, along with integrated circuit fabrication are examined. Low Power, Fast & Compact Designs (Energy, P, L, A), Memory & I/O Design will be covered to produce working integrated circuit designs.

(3) ECE 5404 - Advanced Analog Integrated Circuit Design

Course Description: With a focus on Complementary Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor (CMOS) technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), this course will cover the analog and mixed-signal Integrated Circuits (ICs) design, emerging devices and advanced memory (DRAM, SRAM, RRAM, etc.) technologies, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and neuromorphic computing. Selected topics from other advanced topics such as advanced analog IC components, three-dimension (3D) ICs, memory systems, and their emerging applications will be covered. The students will learn Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools in the following levels – Cadence Virtuoso for circuit schematic and simulation through labs and projects.

VT offers an M.S. program in Science and Technology explores the relationship between science, technology, and society using a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches. Research in STS analyzes how society affects the development and implementation of scientific, technological, and medical knowledges and practices and how these pursuits affect society. At the undergraduate level, STS 3105: Science and Technology in Modern Society is perhaps the most relevant course to the UPWARDS program. There is also STS 3715-3716, which is History of Technology I and II.

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